Vertical PCB surface mount inductors and power converters

ABSTRACT

A vertical PCB inductive device is adapted to be surface mount soldered to a substrate. The inductive device may comprise a transformer having a plurality of windings or one or more discrete inductive devices. The inductive device, being amenable to volume production, may also provide cost savings by reducing the number of layers and the PCB area otherwise required by planar magnetics in a power converter. A power converter may be fashioned to be vertically oriented and surface mount soldered to a substrate such as a customer PCB.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 USC §121, this application is a divisional applicationand claims the benefit of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 12/690,525,filed on Jan. 20, 2010, which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to power converters and printedcircuit board (“PCB”) inductive components, and more particularly to avertical printed circuit board inductor module adapted for surfacemounting to a substrate.

BACKGROUND

An inductor is a passive electronic component that stores energy(measured in henrys (H)) in the form of a magnetic field. In itssimplest form, an inductor consists of a wire loop or coil, and theinductance is directly proportional to the number of turns in the coil.Inductance also depends on factors such as the radius of the coil andthe type, e.g. magnetic permeability, of material, around which the coilis wound, i.e. the core. An inductor impedes the flow ofhigh-frequencies in an alternating current (AC) circuit, and thus may beused as surge protectors to choke off high-frequency shifts. An inductormay also be connected in series or parallel with a capacitor to providediscrimination against unwanted signals, which is advantageous for usein wireless communications applications. In addition, inductors are usedin the power supplies of electronic equipment of all types, includingcomputers and their peripherals. In these systems, simple inductors andmore complex coupled inductors such as multi winding transformers, maybe used in the power train of switching power converters such as in thebuck, boost, buck-boost, forward, and flyback topologies and also infilters helping to smooth out rectified AC, providing pure, battery-likedirect current (DC).

Inductors can be manufactured as a surface mount device (“SMD”), whichis a device that is mounted directly to the surface of a PCB. Forexample, the inductor is placed on the surface of the PCB and then theassembly is moved through an oven in a solder reflow process. Thetemperatures of the oven are sufficiently high to liquefy solder placedbetween the inductor and the PCB, and after the PCB is removed from theoven and cools, the solder hardens to provide a mechanical andelectrical connection. Conventional chip-type surface mount inductorsmay be rectangular, and the wire surrounding the core (the windings) maybe encapsulated in a plastic or other non-conductive material.Electrically conductive terminals on one or more end portions of thesurface mount inductor are exposed for connection to contacts on thePCB. Such packaged inductors consume a large amount of space on a PCB,and space considerations are of the utmost importance in consumerelectronics, portable devices, and many other communication devices.

In an effort to save space and increase reliability, planar magneticcomponents such as inductors and transformers may be constructed usingPCB manufacturing techniques, wherein the windings and individualwinding turns are conductive traces patterned in one or more of theconductive layers of a multilayer PCB. The resulting assembled planarmagnetic PCB inductor has a smaller mounting footprint than an inductorhaving a conventional winding, and the traces that form the windingshave proven to be more reliable than prior art windings because thechances of shorting over adjacent turns of the winding is reduced.

An example of a power converter which uses a planar magnetic structureis described and shown in Vinciarelli, Power Converter Package andThermal Management, U.S. Pat. No. 7,361,844 B2 (assigned to VLT, Inc.,Sunnyvale, Calif. and incorporated here by reference) (the “VICpatent”). The VIC patent shows in FIGS. 5A and 5B a power converterincluding a PCB 442, magnetic core structures 422a, 422b, and additionalpower conversion circuitry in a package having an upper portion and alower portion that respectively enclose circuitry on a top surface and abottom surface of the circuit board. The lower portion encloses asmaller region than that of the upper portion, and the regions arearranged to define an overhang region. Interface contacts on the bottomsurface in the overhang region are provided for making electricalconnections to an external circuit board.

Power converters that must satisfy low voltage and high current capacityrequirements can be expensive to make using planar magnetics because thewindings of the inductor or transformer design may require a substantialnumber of PCB layers, and the overall cost of the converter using suchan inductor or transformer formed in the multilayer PCB may beproportional to the number of layers and the amount of conductivematerial, such as copper, used in each layer, and the PCB area. Forexample, in order to handle a high current of over 40 amperes with a twoor three turn winding with low loss, a multilayer PCB could be composedof eight to ten layers or more that may require approximately fourounces of copper. Furthermore, it is difficult to manufacture such amultilayer PCB to include both inductors and additional electricalcircuitry, which further increases the cost.

In Electronic Module Structure, U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,969, Blitz disclosesa composite electric component module that includes a plurality of waferelements having flat, component-supporting surfaces, and riser membersthat are box-shaped with angularly extending edges. When the structureis formed the edges of one riser member are adjacent the edges ofanother to provide a one-piece, box-shaped module structure with thewafer elements disposed between adjacent riser members. Circuitcomponents are carried by the supporting surfaces of the wafer elements,and electrically conductive paths are provided on these surfaces and onthe inner surfaces of the riser members.

In Wafer Parametron, U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,096, Jorgensen disclosescircuit components in the form of minor modules (parametrons) havingelements of construction for participating in the response of anelectrical circuit, and which can be assembled in groups to form a majormodule of a complex device. Each parametron consists of a thin wafer ofdielectric material for supporting a printed circuit, the wafer havinginput tabs formed on a first edge and output tabs formed on another,separate edge. The wafer also supports a ferrite core mounted in aperforation, wherein the windings of the core are appropriatelyconnected to traces of the printed circuit. A described embodiment is atriangular construction consisting of an array of three parametrons,wherein the three parametrons are arranged to form a triangular base.This configuration of parametrons can be utilized as a plug in module,for example, for use as a component of a digital computer.

In Surface Mount Inductor, U.S. Published Patent Application No.2007/0285200, Hsieh discloses a structure for a surface mount inductorhaving a decreased height when compared to the prior art. The structureconsists of two erected side panels and a central part coupledtherebetween forming an H-shaped core. A wire is wound around thecentral part, two terminals are coupled to the conductor contacts of thecore, and a casing forming a chamber is provided for receiving the core.

In Vertical Surface Mount Assembly and Methods, U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,723,Kinsman et al. disclose a vertically mountable semiconductor deviceassembly that includes a semiconductor device and a mechanism forattaching the semiconductor device to a carrier substrate. Inparticular, the vertically mountable semiconductor device includes bondpads disposed proximate an edge. The assembly also includes a retainerthat engages the semiconductor device, and an alignment device that isattached to a carrier substrate. The alignment device secures thevertically mountable semiconductor device package in an orientation thatis perpendicular to the plane of the carrier substrate.

State of the art microprocessors and memory are increasingly faster andsmaller in size, and require small footprint components that can deliverlow voltages at increasingly higher currents. Thus, there is a need foran improved, cost effective, small footprint inductor module for usewith power converter circuitry. Such a device should also be compatiblewith existing PCB surface mounting techniques and be less expensive thanprior art devices.

SUMMARY

In general, one aspect features an apparatus that includes an inductorhaving a magnetic core and a multilayer PCB. The PCB may includeconductive traces that form at least one winding coupled to the magneticcore and contacts electrically connected to the conductive traces formaking connections between the winding and a substrate. The contacts maybe arranged along one edge of the PCB. The edge may be sufficiently wideto permit stable connection of the inductor to the substrate in agenerally orthogonal orientation.

In general, another aspect features a method that includes providing aninductor having a magnetic core on a multilayer PCB. Conductive tracesmay be provided on at least one layer of the PCB that form a windingcoupled to the magnetic core. Contacts electrically connected to theconductive traces may be provided along one edge of the PCB for makingconnections between the winding and a substrate. The edge of the PCB maybe made sufficiently wide to permit stable connection such that the PCBis substantially perpendicular to the substrate.

In general, another aspect features a method of packaging an inductorthat includes providing a multilayer PCB having a top surface and abottom surface and a magnetically permeable core on the multilayer PCB.Conductive traces on at one layer of the PCB may form a winding coupledto the magnetic core. Contacts electrically connected to the conductivetraces may be provided along one edge of the PCB for making connectionsbetween the winding and a substrate. The edge and the contacts may bemade sufficiently wide to permit stable connection of the inductor tothe substrate in a generally orthogonal orientation.

Implementations of the apparatus or method may include one or more ofthe following features. The inductor may be a transformer and thewindings may include a primary winding and a secondary winding. Thecontacts may be surface mount soldered to the substrate. A thermallyconductive material may be used to encapsulate the inductor and the PCBwhile leaving the contacts exposed. A substrate including powerconversion circuitry and terminals may be provided. The power conversioncircuitry may be electrically connected to the inductor for convertingpower from an input source for delivery to a load. The substrate mayinclude a number, M, of conductive layers for forming interconnections,and the multilayer PCB may include a number, L, of conductive layers. Lmay be greater than M. M may be greater than L. A thermally conductivematerial may be provided on a top surface of the substrate toencapsulate the inductor, the multilayer PCB and the power conversioncircuitry. One or more support pads may be provided on the edge of thePCB adjacent to the contacts. The PCB may have a number, L, ofconductive layers that depends at least partially on the number ofwindings of the inductor, and the substrate may include a number, M, ofconductive layers for forming interconnections between power conversioncircuitry on the substrate and the inductor.

In general, another aspect features an apparatus that includes a firstgenerally rectangular substrate having a thickness, a length and a widthdefining a first surface and a second surface generally parallel to thefirst surface. The first and second surfaces may be separated by thethickness. The substrate may comprise a plurality of conductive layersseparated by insulating layers and a plurality of surface contactsarranged along a first edge of the substrate defined by the length andthe thickness of the substrate. The conductive layers may includeconductive traces. Selected ones of the conductive traces may beelectrically connected to selected ones of the surface contacts. Aplurality of components may be mounted to the substrate. The surfacecontacts may be configured to be mechanically and electrically connectedto respective conductors on a surface of a second substrate by surfacemount techniques with the first edge proximate and generally parallel tothe surface of the second substrate and the first and second surfaces ofthe first substrate generally orthogonal to the surface of the secondsubstrate.

In general, another aspect features a method that includes providing afirst generally rectangular substrate having a thickness, a length and awidth defining a first surface and a second surface generally parallelto the first surface. The first and second surfaces may be separated bythe thickness. The substrate may comprise a plurality of conductivelayers including conductive traces. The conductive layers may beseparated by insulating layers. A plurality of surface contactsconfigured for mechanical and electrical connection to respectiveconductors on a surface of a second substrate may be provided along afirst edge of the substrate. The first edge may be defined by the lengthand the thickness of the substrate. Electrical connections may beprovided between selected conductive traces and selected surfacecontacts. A plurality of components may be mounted to the firstsubstrate. The first edge of the substrate may be surface mounted to thesurface of the second substrate with the first edge proximate andgenerally parallel to the surface of the second substrate and the firstand second surfaces of the first substrate generally orthogonal to thesurface of the second substrate.

Implementations of the apparatus or method may include one or more ofthe following features. The plurality of components may comprisesemiconductor devices. The plurality of components may include amagnetically permeable core and selected conductive traces may form atleast one winding magnetically coupled to the magnetic core. Thesubstrate and components may be arranged to form a power converter. Thelength and thickness of the first substrate may be chosen relative tothe width to provide a mechanically stable base for surface mountsoldering the first substrate to the second substrate. The first edge ofthe first substrate and the surface contacts may have a width and lengthsuitable to surface mount solder the power converter to the secondsubstrate. The locations for mounting the plurality of components andthe width, length, and thickness of the first substrate may be chosen toprovide a mechanically stable platform for vertically surface mountsoldering the first substrate to the second substrate.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and in the detailed description below. Otherfeatures and advantages of the invention will be apparent and clearlyunderstood by reference to the detailed description, to the drawings,and to the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of a known power converter PCBassembly showing the components of the power converter;

FIG. 1B is a top perspective view of the power converter apparatus ofFIG. 1A that has been over-molded with a thermally conductive epoxymaterial;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate, respectively, a top perspective view and abottom perspective view of an inductor module according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 2C is a bottom view of the inductor module of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

FIG. 2D is a side and bottom perspective view of an embodiment of aninductor module similar to that of FIGS. 2A to 2C;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged, top perspective view of an embodiment of a highdensity power converter apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 3B is a top perspective view of an embodiment of the powerconverter apparatus of FIG. 3A that has been over-molded with athermally conductive epoxy material to form an inductor module accordingto the invention;

FIG. 3C is a bottom perspective view of the power converter apparatus ofFIG. 3A according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3D is a bottom view of the embodiment of the power converter ofFIGS. 3A and 3B to illustrate the connectors and the footprint of thedevice;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the known power converter apparatus of FIG.1A showing the connectors and the footprint of the apparatus; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a vertical PCB power converter apparatusaccording to the invention that is surface mount soldered to amotherboard.

Like reference numbers in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is an enlarged, top perspective view of a power converter PCBapparatus 10 (not drawn to scale), which for example may be a sineamplitude converter (“SAC”) similar to that disclosed in Vinciarelli,Factorized Power Architecture With Point of Load Sine AmplitudeConverters, U.S. Pat. No. 6,930,893 (“the SAC Patent”) (assigned to VLT,Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif. and incorporated here by reference). Asdescribed in the SAC Patent, a SAC module may include various powerconversion components mounted to a top surface and to a bottom surfaceof a multilayer printed circuit board (“PCB”).

Referring again to FIG. 1A, the power converter 10 may include amultilayer PCB 2 that supports magnetically permeable cores 4 and 6,which may include core legs (not shown) which may be inserted into holes(not shown) in the PCB 2. The cores may extend over the top surface 16and bottom surface 17 (FIG. 4) of the PCB. The multilayer PCB 2 may becomposed of multiple layers of conductive and non-conductive material,which may be in some applications, e.g. low voltage, high currentoutput, as many as ten (10) or more layers. The layers of the multilayerPCB may contain conductive patterns that form windings of one or moretransformers magnetically coupled to a respective core, e.g. transformercores 4 and 6. The thickness and number of conductive turns in eachwinding and the number of windings in each transformer affect the widthor thickness “t” of the PCB 2. The power converter apparatus 10 may alsoinclude other electronic components, e.g. surface mount devices (SMD's)such as MOSFET power switches 8, which may be connected to the windingsof the transformers 4 and 6 via conductive traces (not shown) on the PCB2. The MOSFET power switches 8 may be connected as primary switches todrive a winding of the transformer, or may be connected as secondaryswitches connected as synchronous rectifiers between a secondary and anoutput. Gate driver circuits 12 may be used to turn the respectiveswitches 8 on and off. Control circuitry 14 may be provided within anintegrated circuit, and the primary gate driver circuits 12 receiveturn-on and turn-off command information from the control circuitry 14.Other SMD components, such as synchronous gate drivers, outputcapacitors, and heat dissipating elements (such as heat fins) may bearranged on the top surface 16 or on the bottom surface 17 of themultilayer PCB 2 as required. Interface contacts or terminals 18 on thebottom 17 of the PCB are provided for making electrical connections toconductive runs (or contacts) located on an external PCB (not shown).The external PCB may contain the load that requires specific low inputvoltages and high currents to power, for example, one or moremicroprocessors and memory devices. For example, the power converterapparatus 10 may be designed to operate with an input voltage oftwenty-four (24) volts and provide an output of one (1) volt at eighty(80) amperes to a load.

FIG. 1B is a top perspective view of a power converter module 15 whichincludes the power converter apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1A. Inparticular, the top surface 16 and the bottom surfaces 17 of the PCB 2(see FIGS. 1A and 4) have been over-molded to form a module for mountingto an external PCB. For example, a thermally conductive epoxy can beused to encapsulate the PCB 2 and all of its components, including theinductors 4 and 6, which also extend from the bottom surface 17, to formparallelepiped upper portion 3 and lower portion 5, while leavingterminals 18 exposed for connection to traces or contacts (not shown) ofan external PCB.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate, respectively, a top perspective view and abottom perspective view of an inductor module 20. The inductor module asshown includes a multilayer PCB 24 and magnetically permeable cores 22a, 22 b, 22 c and 22 d. The magnetic cores 22 a-22 d may have magneticpermeable legs (not shown) that may be inserted into holes (not shown)in the PCB 24. As shown the portions of the magnetically permeable coresmay extend over a first surface 21 and a second surface 23 of themultilayer PCB as depicted in FIG. 2A. During fabrication of theinductor module 20, the conductive layers of the multilayer PCB 24 maybe etched to form conductive traces which are interconnected to formprimary and optionally one or more secondary windings coupled to one ormore of the cores. It will be appreciated that various core and windingconfigurations may be employed to form inductive components ranging froma simple inductor having a single winding and a single core to a complextransformer having a multiplicity of windings and cores. Thecharacteristics such as the width and thickness of the conductive tracesthat form the windings, as well as the number of turns, may be selectedto suit the transformation ratio and current requirements of theapplication. The number and thickness of the substrate layers, and thusthe width “m” of the PCB 24, naturally will depend upon the requisitecharacteristics of the transformer or inductor.

The bottom edge surface 25 of the PCB 24 (see FIG. 2B) may includeplated pads or contacts 26 a to 26 g to provide electrical connectionsto the inductive component, e.g. via conductive traces (not shown)electrically connected to the windings formed by the multilayer PCB. Thenumber of such surface contacts and their dimensions are design choices,and may depend at least in part upon the load requirements. In FIGS. 2Ato 2C, the plated pads 26 a to 26 g are flat and have the same width “m”as the PCB 24 to facilitate making secure and stable connections betweenthe inductor module 20 and another PCB or substrate (such as a“motherboard”, which will be described below with regard to FIG. 3A). Inparticular, the flat contacts 26 a to 26 g are arranged along the bottomedge surface 25 and are substantially planar to facilitate a stablemechanical connection along with a solid electrical connection when theinductor module 20 is surface mount soldered to a substrate. Thus, theinductor module 20 may be considered a surface mount device (SMD).

Although shown as protruding from bottom edge surface 25 of PCB 24,surface contacts 26 a-26 g may alternatively be formed in recesses inbottom edge surface 25. FIG. 2D is a side and bottom perspective view ofan inductor module 20 a similar to that of FIGS. 2A to 2C, wherein likereference numbers indicate like elements. In FIG. 2D, the contacts 26 ato 26 f are in recesses on the bottom edge of the PCB 24 to accommodatesolder for a solid connection to mating contacts (not shown) on anotherPCB. One way to make the recessed contacts 26 a-26 g is to form platedthrough holes or slots in the PCB 24 and which is cut or sawed along aline through the plated through-holes for example during singulation.

FIG. 2C is a bottom view of the embodiment of the inductor module 20 ofFIGS. 2A and 2B, and dotted lines 27 have been added to depict theoutline of an over-molding material, such as a thermally conductiveepoxy, that could be used to encapsulate the inductor module 20. Theflat contact pads 26 a to 26 g preferably are not covered by the epoxymaterial, i.e. they are preferably exposed for soldering to traces orcontacts (not shown) on a substrate. In this embodiment, support pads 29a, 29 b, 29 c and 29 d have been formed by utilizing the over-moldingmaterial, and these support pads are positioned near the far ends of thebottom of the PCB 24 (as shown) to provide additional mechanicalstability when the inductor module 20 is surface mount soldered toanother PCB. The support pads 29 a to 29 d may be the same height as thecontacts 26 a to 26 g so as not to impede good electrical connectionsbetween the contacts 26 a to 26 g and the traces of another substrateduring the surface mount soldering process. Alternately, the supportpads 29 a to 29 d may be of another height so long as the contacts 26 ato 26 g remain unhindered from making good electrical connections to thetraces on another substrate. In addition, more or less such support padsof differing dimensions could be utilized, and could be positioned indifferent locations along the bottom portion of the PCB 24 adjacentand/or between contact pads 26 a to 26 g to aid in providing a secureand stable mechanical connection. Further, support pads could be formedof other materials and be connected in alternate ways, and could serve adual purpose. For example, metal plates for use as heat sinks could beattached to the top edge surface 28 a and include side plates thatextend downwards and may be attached to a front surface 28 b and/or arear surface 28 c of the PCB 24. Such side plates may include supportpads or support legs that extend past the bottom surface 25 of the PCB24 to aid in providing a stable connection to an external substrate.Heat conducting plates (not shown) may also be used adjacent the flatsurfaces of the core pieces to help conduct heat away from the cores.

FIG. 3A is an enlarged, top perspective view of an improved, highdensity power converter apparatus 30, and FIG. 3B is a top perspectiveview of the power converter apparatus 30 of FIG. 3A that has beenover-molded with a thermally conductive epoxy material to form a powerconverter module 35. In FIG. 3B, the conductive epoxy has been appliedto only cover the components (including the inductor module 20) that aremounted on the top surface 36 of the PCB 32. Electrical contact pads(see reference numbers 37 a to 37 l shown in FIG. 3C) on the bottomsurface 38 are left exposed.

Referring to FIG. 3A, an inductor module 20 discussed above with regardto FIGS. 2A and 2B is shown surface mount soldered to the top surface 36of a substrate 32 along with other SMD's. In particular, the inductormodule 20 is shown mounted vertically such that the multilayer PCB 24 isgenerally orthogonal (or substantially perpendicular) to the substrate32. As discussed above, the width or thickness “m” of the multilayer PCB24, including that of the flat contacts 26 a to 26 g and any supportpads that may be present (see FIG. 2C), provides for a stable and secureconnection (as a surface mount device) to the substrate 32. The inductormodule 20 may comprise a transformer having one or more primary windingsand one or more secondary windings adapted for use in a power converter.

The substrate 32, which may be referred to as a “motherboard,” mayinclude power conversion circuitry that is electrically connected to theinductor module 20 through the contact pads 26 a to 26 g (shown in FIGS.2A to 2C). For example, power conversion circuitry such as MOSFET powerswitches 34 may be connected to traces (not shown) etched in one or morelayers of the substrate 32, which in turn are connected to contacts (notshown) on the top surface 36 of the substrate 32. The substrate contactson the top surface 36 may be soldered to the contact pads 26 a to 26 gon the bottom edge surface 25 of the inductor module 20 via a surfacemount soldering process. The MOSFET power switches may be thus connectedto respective winding of the transformer in inductor module 20 viaetched conductive traces (not shown) in one or more layers of the PCB24. Other circuitry, such as primary gate driver circuits, controlcircuitry, synchronous gate drivers, output capacitors, and heatdissipating elements may also be arranged on the top surface 36 of thesubstrate 32 as required.

FIG. 3C is a bottom perspective view of the power converter apparatus 30of FIG. 3A depicting terminals 37 a to 37 l arranged on the bottomsurface 38 for connection to contacts of an external PCB. As shown, thesubstrate 32 has a width “P” and a length “Q”, and the terminals 37 a to37 l may be generally planar pads (or flat contacts) for making stablemechanical and electrical connections between the power converter 30 andconductive traces or contacts on a surface of an external PCB (such as acustomer board, not shown). It should be noted that using the verticalsurface mount PCB inductor (FIGS. 2A to 2D) in the two PCB design (FIGS.3A to 3D) allows all components to be surface mount soldered to the topsurface 36 of PCB 32 with no components extending past or overhangingthe bottom surface 38, allowing the complete power converter apparatus35 to be a SMD for connection to an external board. The customer orexternal PCB may provide the required input voltage(s) to, for example,terminals 37 k and 37 l, and may receive various low voltage and highcurrent combination outputs from terminals 37 a to 37 j for input, forexample, to one or more microprocessors and memory devices.

FIG. 3D is a bottom view of the power converter apparatus 30 of FIGS. 3Ato 3C, showing the terminals 37 a to 37 l arranged on the bottom surface38 of the substrate 32. As shown, the substrate 32 has a width “P” and alength “Q” that define a footprint for the power converter 30.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view 40 of the power converter apparatus 10 of FIG.1A showing the terminals 18 and the transformer core sets 4 and 6extending out from the bottom surface 17 of PCB 2. The lengths “S” and“Q” of the two converters, 40 and 30, and their respective PCBs, 2 and32, shown in FIGS. 4 and 3D respectively are substantially the same.However, the width “R” of power converter 40 and its PCB 2 issubstantially greater, e.g. by as much as 50%, than the width “P” ofconverter 30 and its PCB 32. Accordingly, the footprint of powerconverter 30 (and power converter module 35) is smaller than thefootprint of a comparable conventional power converter. The reduction inthe footprint of the power converter 30 over traditional single PCBconverters may be attributable to the reduction in area required on themain converter PCB by traditional magnetic components. The verticalsurface mount inductor/transformer may therefore be used to reduce theconverter footprint, which is advantageous particularly where PCB areais at a premium, e.g. at the point of load or near high value componentssuch as microprocessors. The vertical surface mount PCB componentenables more efficient utilization of the area on the internal powerconverter PCB 32 and on the external system PCB, i.e. the customer'sPCB, and thus is advantageous for use in compact power convertersincluding, low voltage and high current output applications.

The vertical PCB component may also enable fabrication of lower costpower converters. In particular, as discussed above, the number ofconductive layers “L” of the PCB 24 (see FIGS. 2A to 2C) depends on thenumber of windings required for the magnetic cores of inductors 22 a-22d. The transformer has been relocated from substrate 32 (where itresides in the prior art device 40) to the inductor module 20 in theimproved power converter 30. Because the number “M” of conductive layersrequired to form electrical interconnections between the various SMD's(surface mount devices) is less than the number, L, of layers requiredto form the transformer, the PCB 32 may be fabricated using fewer layerswhich reduces the cost of the power converter and results in a thinnerPCB. For example, in some high current applications the inductor PCB 24may include fourteen to sixteen layers, whereas the substrate 32 mayonly require two to six layers for making interconnections between powerconversion electrical components. Thus, as depicted in FIG. 3A, thewidth “n” of the PCB 32 is thinner than the width “m” of the PCB 24.Therefore, the PCB 24 can be designed to efficiently utilize therequired number of layers to accommodate the windings for the inductivecomponent 20 without having to provide additional conductive materials(such as copper) for areas in the layers that may not be fully utilizedby any other components. The two PCB configuration thus eliminates wastebecause the multilayer substrate 32 containing, for example, powerconverter SMD's can utilize less conductive material for makinginterconnections. The degree of difficulty of power converter design isalso reduced by the two PCB configuration, as it is simpler tointerconnect the SMD's of PCB 32 when no inductors are present.

Consequently, the cost to manufacture the power converter 30 or powerconverter module 35 of FIGS. 3A to 3C (a two PCB design consisting of avertical mount inductor assembly surface mounted on a substrate) is lessthan that of manufacturing conventional single PCB power converters(like that shown in FIG. 1A). In addition, since the substrate 32includes all of the SMD's on a top surface, the power converterapparatus can be surface mount soldered to an external board (such as acustomer board).

The vertical PCB inductors and transformers may be manufactured inquantity by assembling permeable cores onto relatively large PCB panelscomprising many inductors which may then be over-molded (if needed) andthen singulated, i.e. cut or sawed into individual components such asthose shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D.

Although shown incorporated into a surface mount power converter module30, 35 in FIGS. 3A to 3D, the vertical surface mount PCB inductor may beadvantageously used as a discrete component in other applications. Forexample, multi-phase buck regulators are commonly used at the point ofload to supply low voltage, e.g. 1V and less, loads from an intermediatebus voltage, e.g. 12V. A vertical surface mount PCB inductor module 20,20A (FIGS. 2A to 2D) comprising a plurality of individual inductors,e.g. 4, 8, or more, may provide a compact cost-effective solution insuch applications. The vertical surface mount inductor module 20, 20 acan therefore also reduce the area required on the motherboard at thepoint of load in discrete applications particularly when combined withhighly integrated components such as the commonly available multi-phasebuck controllers. In some applications, e.g. the multi-phase buckapplication, one terminal of each of the individual inductors may beconnected to a common terminal e.g. terminals 26 a-26 g in FIGS. 2B and2D.

The vertical surface mount component need not be limited to inductivecomponents. For example, other electronic components or subsystems maybe formed on or mounted to a vertical substrate such as PCB 24 (FIG. 2A)which may then be surface mount soldered to a main PCB to reduce thesurface area required on the main PCB.

Referring to FIG. 5, one such example is shown in perspective view. Avertical surface-mount substrate power converter 50 is shown surfacemount soldered to a main PCB 80, which for example may be a customermotherboard. In this example, the power converter apparatus 50 includesa multilayer PCB 52 and two transformers: a drive transformer 54, and apower transformer 56. The drive transformer 54 and the power transformer56 may include magnetic permeable legs (not shown) that are insertedinto holes (not shown) in the PCB 52. The drive transformer and thepower transformer may include portions that extend from the firstsurface 51 and from the opposite, second surface 53 of the PCB 52. Othercomponents may also be surface mount soldered to the first surface 51 orto the second surface 53 of the PCB 52. For example, integrated controlcircuits 58 and 60, input field effect transistors (FET's) 62, andoutput FET's 64 a and 64 b are shown surface mount soldered to thesurface 51. In addition, additional components, such as input capacitors66 a to 66 d and output capacitors 68 a to 68 c, have been surface mountsoldered to the second surface 53.

During fabrication of the power converter 50, the conductive layers ofthe PCB 52 may be etched to form conductive traces which areinterconnected to form primary, and optionally, secondary windings thatmay be coupled to the magnetic permeable cores of the drive transformer54 or to the power transformer 56. Various core and windingconfigurations could be used to form these transformer components, andthe characteristics such as width and thickness of the conductivetracings that form the windings, as well as the number of turns, may beselected to suit the transformation ratio and current requirements ofthe application. Thus, the number of substrate layers, and thus thethickness “T” of the PCB 52 may depend upon the required characteristicsof one or both of the transformers.

The bottom edge surface (not shown) of the PCB 52 may include platedpads or surface contacts (not shown) such as the those illustrated inFIG. 2 to provide electrical connections between the power converter andexternal circuitry, e.g. power source, load, and supervisory circuitry,via conductive traces (not shown). The number of such pads or contactsand their dimensions are design choices, and may depend at least in partupon the load requirements. The plated pads may be generally planar orflat, and may be substantially the same width “T” as the PCB 52 tofacilitate making secure and stable mechanical and electricalconnections between the inductor module 50 and the customer PCB 80.Surface mount solder connections 70 a to 70 h are depicted in FIG. 5,and it should be understood that the width of the plated pads may beslightly wider or thinner as long as a secure and stable connection canbe achieved between the power converter 50 and the customer PCB 80.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus comprising: an inductor having amagnetic core; and a multilayer PCB, the PCB including conductive tracesthat form at least one winding coupled to the magnetic core and contactselectrically connected to the conductive traces for making connectionsbetween the at least one winding and a substrate, wherein the contactsare arranged along and on the surface of one edge of the PCB, the edgebeing defined by the length and the thickness of the multilayer PCB, andwherein the edge is sufficiently wide to permit stable connection of theinductor to the substrate in a generally orthogonal orientation.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one winding comprises aprimary winding and a secondary winding, and wherein the inductor is atransformer.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the contacts aresurface mount soldered to the substrate.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising a thermally conductive material encapsulating thecore and the PCB but leaving the contacts exposed.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1 further comprising a substrate including power conversioncircuitry and terminals, wherein the power conversion circuitry iselectrically connected to the inductor for converting power from aninput source for delivery to a load, and wherein the substrate comprisesa number, M, of conductive layers for forming interconnections, and themultilayer PCB comprises a number, L, of conductive layers.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 5 wherein L is greater than M.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 5 wherein M is greater than L.
 8. The apparatus of claim 5 furthercomprising a thermally conductive material on a top surface of thesubstrate, wherein the material encapsulates the core, the multilayerPCB and the power conversion circuitry.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising at least one support pad provided on the edge of thePCB adjacent the contacts.
 10. A method comprising: providing aninductor having a magnetic core; and providing a multilayer PCB, the PCBincluding conductive traces that form at least one winding coupled tothe magnetic core and contacts electrically connected to the conductivetraces for making connections between the at least one winding and asubstrate, wherein the contacts are arranged along and on the surface ofone edge of the PCB, the edge being defined by the length and thethickness of the multilayer PCB, and wherein the edge is sufficientlywide to permit stable connection of the inductor to the substrate in agenerally orthogonal orientation.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein theat least one winding comprises a primary winding and a secondarywinding, and wherein the inductor is a transformer.
 12. The method ofclaim 10 wherein the contacts are surface mount soldered to thesubstrate.
 13. The method of claim 10 further comprising providing athermally conductive material encapsulating the core and the PCB butleaving the contacts exposed.
 14. The method of claim 10 furthercomprising providing a substrate including power conversion circuitryand terminals, wherein the power conversion circuitry is electricallyconnected to the inductor for converting power from an input source fordelivery to a load, and wherein the substrate comprises a number, M, ofconductive layers for forming interconnections, and the multilayer PCBcomprises a number, L, of conductive layers.
 15. The method of claim 14wherein L is greater than M.
 16. The method of claim 14 wherein M isgreater than L.
 17. The method of claim 14 further comprising providinga thermally conductive material on a top surface of the substrate,wherein the material encapsulates the core, the multilayer PCB and thepower conversion circuitry.
 18. The method of claim 10 furthercomprising providing at least one support pad provided on the edge ofthe PCB adjacent the contacts.
 19. A method comprising: operating anelectric device comprising: an inductor having a magnetic core; and amultilayer PCB, the PCB including conductive traces that form at leastone winding coupled to the magnetic core and contacts electricallyconnected to the conductive traces for making connections between the atleast one winding and a substrate, wherein the contacts are arrangedalong and on the surface of one edge of the PCB, the edge being definedby the length and the thickness of the multilayer PCB, and wherein theedge is sufficiently wide to permit stable connection of the inductor tothe substrate in a generally orthogonal orientation.
 20. The method ofclaim 19 wherein the at least one winding comprises a primary windingand a secondary winding, and wherein the inductor is a transformer.